Hogeye Marathon to slow traffic in Fayetteville on Sunday

File Photo/Michael Woods• @NWAMICHAELW Pauline Allen from Fayetteville celebrates March 30 with her friend Jo Hudec after Allen took first place in the women’s division of last year’s Hogeye Half Marathon in Fayetteville.
File Photo/Michael Woods• @NWAMICHAELW Pauline Allen from Fayetteville celebrates March 30 with her friend Jo Hudec after Allen took first place in the women’s division of last year’s Hogeye Half Marathon in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Drivers should expect traffic delays throughout the city Sunday as nearly 2,000 runners participate in the annual Hogeye Marathon & Relays.

A 26.2-mile marathon and a 13.1-mile half marathon are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. on the downtown square. Both races will wind along various streets and trails and will end in the main parking lot west of the Walton Arts Center.

Marathon information

Go to the online version of this story at nwadg.com to see a map of the marathon and half marathon routes

Organizers intend to clear the Arts Center lot by 2 p.m.

A 5K run/walk is scheduled to begin at 7:35 a.m. Participants will head down Mountain Street from the square and along West Avenue, Lafayette Street, Arkansas Avenue, Maple Street, Garland Avenue and North Street before turning south on the Scull Creek Trail toward Dickson Street.

The square will be closed to traffic between 7 and 7:45 a.m. Cars will not be able to access West Avenue between Mountain and Lafayette streets from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. Maple Street will close from 7:30 to 8 a.m. between Arkansas Avenue and Razorback Road. And Drake Street will be blocked for two hours beginning at 7:45 a.m. between Garland and Gregg avenues.

Officers with the Fayetteville, Springdale and University of Arkansas police departments will direct traffic at several intersections along the race routes, including at Wedington Drive and Sang Avenue; Maple Street and Arkansas Avenue; Porter Road and Deane Street; Arkansas 112 and Interstate 49; and Joyce Boulevard and Vantage Drive. Motorists could face delays while runners are in the intersections.

Several segments of the city's trail system also will be off limits to the general public during Sunday's event.

Portions of the Scull Creek, Mud Creek, Lake Fayetteville and Frisco trails are scheduled to close at various points between 8:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Fayetteville code allows nonprofit groups to close the city's trail system for annual events coordinated with city officials.

Typically, the closings are limited to four hours, but Mayor Lioneld Jordan approved an extension for the Hogeye Marathon.

"Everyone does a great job of getting trails re-opened as soon as the final groups go through," said Alan Spann, recreation superintendent for the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department.

According to Tabby Holmes, race director, Hogeye organizers donate proceeds from the races to Meals on Wheels of Washington County, the Alzheimer's Association's Northwest Arkansas chapter, the Jackson L. Graves Foundation, American Wheelchair Mission and Kendrick Fincher Hydration Foundation.

NW News on 03/28/2015

Upcoming Events